scotianostra:Mary, Queen of Scots, was born at Linlithgow Palace on December 8th 1542.Part One.I n
scotianostra: Mary, Queen of Scots, was born at Linlithgow Palace on December 8th 1542.Part One.I never know what to post about Mary Stuart nowadays, as I try to keep things fresh…. I’ll start with her father, King James V, who, on hearing he had a daughter is alleged to have said “it cam’ wi’ a lass, and it’ll gang wi’ a lass” meaning that whilst the Stewarts came to power through marrying a princess, (Marjorie Bruce) the Stewart line would end with his daughter as queen. He then promptly died and Mary became Queen aged just 6 days old. The words might have sounded good and are still often quoted, but the Stewart’s, by then spelled Stuart, plodded on for over 150 years, the last monarch being Queen Anne from 1702 to 1714.From the very beginning, life was harsh to the girl. Born prematurely, she was fragile and had to fight tooth and nail for her right to stay in this world, dominated by men. Mary was his only legitimate child and the presumptive heir to his throne. Once James V passed, that presumption became grim reality. Though envoys noted she was “weak and frail,” this babe was now Queen of all Scotland, and the entire country rested on her tiny shoulders. From the very first, it was one wild ride. Though Mary was still just an infant and had regents doing most of her decision-making for the first decades of her life, this didn’t mean she was out of the action—far from it. Almost immediately after her crowning, the infamous Henry VIII of England started trying to get Mary betrothed to his son Edward, and he stopped at nothing to accomplish it, look for my posts about what became known as “The Rough Wooing” which involved him sending armies into Scotland trying to strong-arm them into agreeing to the union through brute force. In 1547, the first part of Mary’s destiny locked into place. Scotland, terrified of King Henry VIII and losing badly, turned to France and The King of France, Henri II, agreed to provide military support against England, while Mary was promised in marriage to Henri’s son and heir, Francis, uniting the two countries against the common enemy, England.In 1548 Mary was sent her to France—and out of Henry VIII’s rampage—to live with her toddler fiancé. These were the years that shaped her life. She stayed at the French court for over a decade she developed a love for riding dancing, music, masking and embroidery, she obviously became fluent in French, but also spoke Latin, Greek, Spanish and Italian. The French court was beguiled by the toddler who grew into a beautiful lady. She had a small face, a long, graceful neck, hazel eyes, and a head of thick, auburn hair. Mary grew to an astonishing 5 feet, 11 inches tall, even by todays standards it’s tall, on paper her fiancé was not a perfect match for the Queen of Scots, Prince Francis had a noticeable stutter, was constantly ill, and was somewhat shorter than average for the time. But they had a secret weapon. Odd couple or not, they got along “as if they had known each other for a long time.” and there is no doubting they loved each other. In 1558, Mary a flush 15 years old, and Prince Francis 14 years old and probably still dealing with his first wave of acne, were married in Cathedral, Paris. A year later, King Henri died and Mary became Queen of Scotland and France. However, her reign of France was brief, for in 1560 Francis became ill and died. The crown passed to his younger brother. Mary’s mother (who had ruled Scotland as regent) had also died in 1560, and so Mary returned to Scotland in 1561. On 18th August, she sailed into Leith. Dressed in mourning, Mary then travelled to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in a grand procession, where the way was lined with a cheering crowd.I’ll leave things for now and will pick this up later today. -- source link